Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie: ‘Pretty concrete that I’m gonna opt out’

Originally posted on FortyEightMinutes | By Sam Amico | Last updated 5/13/21

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie sounds as if he has already decided to turn down his player option and test free agency this summer, telling Shlomo Sprung of Forbes that “you kind of have to.”

Dinwiddie has been out since early in the season after suffering a torn ACL.

“I’m gonna be more than healthy by the time free agency starts, so just from a dollars perspective you kind of have to,” said Dinwiddie, whose option would pay him about $12.3 million. “(The option for) $12 million isn’t market value for a starting point guard. It’s probably about half, 20-25. So obviously it’s pretty concrete that I’m gonna opt out.”

If Dinwiddie does return to the Nets, he will obviously see a decrease in floor time, with stars Kyrie Irving and James Harden in front of him in the rotation.

Still, he’s definitely not ruling out a return.

“If Brooklyn wants to use my Bird Rights and sign me, I’d be thankful to be back and be able to go and try to win, hopefully, a second championship,” Dinwiddie told Sprung. “And if not, then as an unrestricted free agent you can kinda choose where you wanna go. It’s an interesting situation to be in.”

Dinwiddie, 28, is 6-foot-5 and averaged career-highs of 20.6 points and 6.8 assists in 64 games last season.

He is likely to draw interest from the Heat, Pistons and Raptors, among others. He actually spent the first two years of his career (2014-16) with the Pistons before turning into a major player for the Nets.

This article first appeared on FortyEightMinutes and was syndicated with permission.

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